Good enough? Not hardly.
David wrote earlier about MSNBC’s coverage of the assassination of our Salem colleague Charlie Kirk, who had just begun engaging a large college crowd about politics and values when he was shot to death. Matthew Dowd in particular didn’t even wait for the evidence to emerge before castigating Kirk as a “divisive” figure, implying that he got what was coming to him. Matt Margolis has the pull quotes at our sister site, PJ Media:
“We don’t know any of the full details of this, that we don’t know if this was a supporter shooting their gun off in celebration or…. So we have no idea about this,” he mused on air, throwing out baseless hypotheticals as Kirk’s life hung in the balance.
From there, Dowd moved straight into smearing the victim. “He’s been one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures in this, who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech or sort of aimed at certain groups,” he said, as if Kirk’s rhetoric somehow made him responsible for the bullet that struck him.
Dowd doubled down, offering his pseudo-profound take that “hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions.” In other words, according to him, Kirk’s speech—not the deranged individual who pulled the trigger—is to blame for the attack. “That’s the unfortunate environment we’re in,” Dowd concluded.
No — that’s the unfortunate and delusional environment of MSNBC.
This time, though, the backlash to Dowd’s comments on social media hit levels high enough for the soon-to-be-not-NBC cable channel’s leadership to notice. A few hours later, MSNBC chief Rebecca Kutler issued an apology on the X/Twitter account of its PR department:
Statement from MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler: “During our breaking news coverage of the shooting of Charlie Kirk, Matthew Dowd made comments that were inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable. We apologize for his statements, as has he. There is no place for violence in…
— MSNBC Public Relations (@MSNBCPR) September 10, 2025
… There is no place for violence in America, political or otherwise.”
Thanks for the apology, a few hours late, I suppose. However, why put this out on the PR account, which has less than 24,000 followers? The main MSNBC account has five million followers. Kutler’s apology has yet to make an appearance on that account. Are they afraid to apologize where their own viewers will notice it?
Besides, Dowd was hardly the only vile contributor to MSNBC’s ghoulish coverage. Anchor Katy Tur set the tone for Dowd’s observations:
MSNBC anchor and apparent psycho Kate Tur lashes out at Charlie Kirk after he was shot in the neck moments ago, calling him a “divisive figure, polarizing, lightning rod. What ever term you want to use.” pic.twitter.com/2grSfGyEzE
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) September 10, 2025
And not just in this segment either. Tur brought Axios reporter Marc Caputo on, who was dumbfounded by Tur’s approach to the assassination:
MSNBC anchor Katy Tur raised eyebrows on Wednesday in the aftermath of the shooting of pro-Trump activist Charlie Kirk with her subsequent coverage of the horrific incident. Tur spoke to Axios’s Marc Caputo and at one point suggested that President Donald Trump may use the shooting as a “justification for something” bad. …
And I know it’s hard to predict the future, Mark, but you can imagine the administration using this as a justification for something.
“I must admit I’m at a loss to guess as to what happens next, but Charlie Kirk had pioneered this sort of technique, this sort of style of going to campuses, having these sort of open-air debates, these open-air arguments, and it sort of spread to other figures and other influential figures, but he was the one who sort of pioneered this,” Caputo replied, dodging the question to discuss Kirk’s career more.
Why didn’t Kutler apologize for Tur’s equally, if not more, ghastly approach? Perhaps Kutler understands that the problem of disgusting ghoulishness extends far beyond Matthew Dowd, and pretty much applies to her entire enterprise. And that is precisely why NBC News wants its brand removed from it.
Apology not accepted. Or at least, let’s hold it in abeyance until it is accompanied by repentance and atonement in the form of heads rolling.
Editor’s Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie about President Trump, his administration, and conservatives.
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